Tuesday, April 29, 2014

I never felt like a snob, you know, I work hard for my
money, I should be able to buy any soap I want or get my nails done… blah blah,
but the truth is…it’s not MY money, I
work hard for God’s provision. As I should, it is honoring!

Perfect timing I ran out of my Love Spell soap, it’s my
favorite, and I usually ask for it as a gift or I justify spending the money
that it lasts me a long time… ok, it works out to be about $6 (for 7 oz) a
bottle if you buy 5 and I need some…I
have none. Clearly I need to understand the true meaning of need!

In the meantime I decided to use the body wash my daughter
uses which is Ivory.It’s a 24 oz bottle
for about $3.50 (and I usually have a coupon).

Can I just say that I am ridiculous?

I actually found out I love the body wash my daughter uses
and will stick to it, and forego the VS Love Spell body wash.

In small microwave safe bowl mix 2 TBS oil with one bag white chocolate chips. Cook in high 1 min, stir and put in for 1 more minute. Mix until melted completely.

Pour over cereal mix and stir until everything is coated evenly. I put mixture onto parchment/wax paper until chocolate hardens. Then break it all up into smaller chunks and put it back into the big bowl.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

It always scares me not to write. Normally if I don't write I'm struggling with something, and I am struggling with something. And I write to process and I share whatever God is doing with you, my readers.

Honestly I've written a lot in my journal and not a lot here. But I'm taking a break anyway.

If I find a good recipe or a picture I want to share, Or a scripture, I'll post it but it will be someone else's words not mind :)

This break is not because I don't have anything to say... More like I have too much to say. That's weird but whatever.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Living simply doesn’t really come easy to
me.I want lots of stuff, I have spent
most of my life wanting stuff, and I am always waiting for that day that I might
need this or that.Oh and let’s not even
go there with all the books I’ve purchased over the years and never read.

After being in Haiti and going up North and
seeing how amazingly simple people live, I really am thinking that is the way
to go.I’ve also been known to just
throw things on a shelf because I am too busy to put something actually “away”.Or how about how I still have the little bags
that come with something with one extra screw or a few washers… what in the
world?I’ve been going through things
and either throwing things away or making a garage sale pile (man, if you like
Christian books… this will be the place for you!) and just getting rid of
things to make life simpler.I even have
clothes that still have tags on them!

For a long time the thought of getting rid of
things made my skin itch and made me twitch…but now, it seems like the absolute right thing to do…Makes my skin twitch to NOT do it.

I can’t believe how much “stuff” I have…I mean I have boxes and boxes of stuff to get
rid of and the crazy thing is that I still have more stuff…I’ve also taken the time to hang things up
that have been sitting waiting patiently to find their rightful place on the
walls.

It’s been
nice to go through things, relive a memory, and let it go.And sometimes it’s hard because I think of
all the money wasted buying things that I never used.

I have to say that eating simply has been A-MAZING!I think that when I started I thought it was
going to be hard, I thought I’d be sick of rice and beans, I’d be tired of
eating the same things, but honestly, it’s been amazing.I feel so good.I also haven’t had any caffeine except for the
few ounces of Toro I had at our team gathering. It’s been so great! I can’t
believe it, honestly, water is amazing and I have had one flavored non-caffeine
tea a day.

If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s that
stuff doesn’t make me happy. I mean I think I’ve always known that… but going
through all these “things” while it’s nice to have, the whole consumerism thing
is just nuts.And for me buying too much
stuff and retail therapy and eating has been a terrible crutch, and it’s time
to let go of the crutches and walk strongly and confidently and very humbly with
Jesus.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

If you would have to me that I'd ever consider turning off my cable I would have told you that you a nut job... I mean I'm a kid of the 70/80/90s and tv was entertainment and even now I find myself choosing to "veg out"in front of the tv.

But I'm considering it for real. I went to Haiti and there is no tv and I never really even thought about it. And then I've been staying at a friends house and they don't have cable and it's been nice to listen to music and talk (it's not like we don't have movies and we have netflix). And honestly I have been kind of dissatisfied with tv lately... I only look forward to Blue Bloods and Chicago Fire (even parenthood has been a little disappointing lately)

Praying about it, going to check out alternatives... Only internet, wifi, this should prove interesting.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

My heart has seemed to be on overload lately. A million feelings and no way to escape in a healthy way. I could have eaten something I shouldn't or gone shopping or something but when things got tough the last couple weeks I've just been clinging to Jesus.

I was thankful that our team leaders planned a super yummy dinner and we had our team come together and laugh (and I cried). I had some moments when I was just captivated by love. Like Jesus was in the room with us.

I have found myself overwhelmed and even feeling all the way through it. I have felt lonely, abandoned, sad, joyful, loved, and pretty much any gamut in between.

I don't know what's ahead but I know Jesus is my Lord and Savior and He's got it. He will go before me and light the way.

Drove up to see the team I went to Haiti with yesterday it was an absolute beautiful drive and talked and sang the whole way up.

Got here and was instantly greeted with warmth. It's like I've known these people all my life. And to share an experience of Haiti with them is just pretty amazing.

We hung out caught up it was pretty great and then we went to Good Friday service which was way different than the service we had at Metro but it was beautiful and I learned a few things and That makes me happy, I love to learn and be taught. (The church reminds me a little of metro in the early days)

We came home and talked and talked about Haiti and laughed and recalled such great memories and lessons we learned there. It was so great!

My heart is so thankful for being here. I come home and do my best (wish my best was better) to re-entry and re acclimate into our life here and I just either don't do a good job or could really use more time (or I should just stay in Haiti ha!!!!)

it was great to hug my team that was at church and meet new people that have heard about me (it's weird that I was described as cool - I'm a nerd mom haha I just love people). I thought about in church how differently I connect with Jesus while in Haiti. Re emphasizes the one day I was praying about going to Haiti...

"God don't You know who i am?!? Haiti sure seems like a weird thing for someone like me to do"

"Of course I know who you are... I created you, the world made you that way".

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I honestly didn’t know how it was going to go
yesterday.In the past one of my
favorite days of the month is the day that I serve at ‘I am My Brother’s Keeper’
(MBK).Our church goes and brings a meal
and serves with another church.It’s an
amazing night.When I leave I am exhausted.And typically my face hurts from smiling so
much.

I always get there early and have my time with Ernie (and
Leon when he was there).We talk, share,
laugh.It’s always a nice time, and I actually
feel robbed when other people come in and distrupt our 30-45 minutes of
time.I feel like its my time.Lol, I am so selfish!

But the problem is…and this is where I am jacked up…I come home from Haiti and the need in America is much different than the
need in Haiti and I sometimes have a hard time.But God didn’t justcall me to
serve in Haiti, and after all, I do love serving people, especially feeding
people.

So I prayed about what we serve at MBK, and last night it was
meatballs & gravy, noodles, cheese potatoes, green beans, and dessert.
YUM!We served almost 1000
meatballs!WOO HOO!I prayed about serving, God you called me to
serve here, let me remember that I am serving You, and only You.I looked forward to serving all day, I kept
saying “It’s my favorite day of the month, 3rd Tuesday”.I walked into the church and asked for help
(because I always bring TONS of stuff when I come) and about 8 perfect
gentlemen helped me carry all my stuff (they are always SO helpful!!!) and as I
walked into the “gym”, I saw him, Ernie, standing there at the door waiting for
me, and I tell you, I was smiling from my toes!Home.

Ernie and I went to our “normal” routine, getting everything
ready (we are a great team).I am sure
he thinks I’m a nut job but he puts up with me, we talked like we normally do,
he wouldn’t even let me carry the big pot of water for the noodles!He is good to me!

I have to tell you that I know that some people might serve
at MBK, and feel like they are doing some great charity work, but for me, it’s
a place where I am with people I love, serving people I love, and mostly
serving Jesus.I left MBK with this
amazing feeling that I spent my evening with Jesus.

I can’t wait for next month… praying about what we are going
to serve… wondering… “Jesus, what would You like for dinner next 3rd
Tuesday?”

James 2:14-17 14 What good
is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no
deeds? Can such faith save them?15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes
and daily food.16 If
one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does
nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?17 In the same way, faith by
itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Monday, April 14, 2014

One thing with coming home from Haiti is that I have decided
to clean out a lot of stuff and have a garage sale!I have tons of stuff and I’d like to raise
some money for my trip (if I can swing it) in December besides that I have two
trips this summer to pay for!I’ve been
cleaning out my closets, drawers, everything.I was going through some t-shirts and I found one that I had purchased
from Visiting Orphans http://www.visitingorphans.org/

Go.Be.Love.

Now for the longest time I read that as a command.Go be love.Go spread the love of Christ.

And this morning while praying on my way to work, God spoke
to my heart differently about it.

Go - Go make disciples, do it everywhere you go.

Be – Please be with Me, spend time with Me.God spoke so sweetly to my heart that it
doesn’t matter how much I do, it doesn’t matter how much I don’t do, He wants
to spend time with me.He loves me, and
my greatest desire is to love Him too.Some
of my sweetest times on my last Haiti trip was time I spent with Him

Love – Love everyone, even when it’s hard (and sometimes it
really is difficult). Love those around you, love those far from you.Do what you can to whenever you can to show
those around the world, Me.

What a different perspective, especially that ‘Be’ part.
Wow.I am so thankful for a different
perspective, one from the Father.

I am never
disappointed when I spend time with Him, He restores my soul.

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I HATE SHOES!

Belle Isle

31 days

Brave Girl Boots

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About Me

This blog is about me, well, not really not about me, it's about God's story in my oh-so-not-perfect life. I'm thankful for God's grace.
I'm a woman saved by grace. A single mom who is in love with Jesus and a beautiful daughter. I often stand in amazement of them both!
I have found a love in Jesus that I never thought there was. This love involves trust, and joy and feelings I never thought possible.
It's opened my heart to amazing things. It's made me more aware of the blessing around me.
He's amazing.